pepsico quenches thirst for energy efficiency

SRP Commercial Business Case Study: PepsiCo
PEPSICO QUENCHES
THIRST FOR ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
As a leading food and beverage
company that’s both global and local,
Pictured above, from left, Dan Mestas and Tom Schaefer, PepsiCo
PepsiCo has considerable influence to
address world issues, such as water
conservation, climate change, sustainable
agriculture and sustainable packaging,
within businesses and communities.
“We have a goal to be ‘responsible,’
so we’re actively seeking ways to save
energy and water in our operations,”
said Tom Schaefer, Director of
Resource Conservation for PepsiCo.
The company is committed to achieving
a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
across global operations as well as
improving electricity and fuel-use
efficiency by 20% and 25%, respectively,
by 2015.
The impact of these goals is substantial
when you consider that PepsiCo has more
than 700 facilities around the world,
including manufacturing sites, research
and development facilities, distribution
centers and offices.
Armed with these goals in mind, PepsiCo
identified its Gatorade facility in Tolleson
as an ideal candidate for an energyefficiency makeover.
IT’S NOT JUST HOT AIR
system leaks. Not only did PepsiCo use this opportunity
As it is at most manufacturing facilities, compressed
air is a huge energy expense at the Gatorade plant.
Rather than performing a standard
leak test, Dan Mestas, Plant
Engineer at PepsiCo,
decided to participate in a
comprehensive technical
assessment through the
SRP Custom Business
Solutions program.
The goal was to identify
supply-, control- and
demand-side savings
opportunities. “With
the technical assessment
report in hand, it made
justification and approval
of upgrades much
easier,” Mestas said.
PHASE 1: TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT
The first phase of the project consisted of a technical
assessment performed by an SRP Qualified Service Provider.
“We were aware of a large pressure drop between the
point of generation and the furthest users,” Mestas said.
“Pressure gauges and equipment operating parameters
made this evident.”
The technical assessment not only confirmed PepsiCo’s
suspicions but also identified other areas of opportunity to
improve the energy efficiency of the facility through:
� Testing of the existing equipment
� Identifying the number and severity of compressed-air
system leaks
� Suggesting maintenance, process and equipment
improvements
The final report outlined the potential energy savings and
costs to implement various upgrades. However, those
upgrades would not be effective without addressing the
to make necessary repairs, but it also implemented an
awareness program among the maintenance staff to identify,
tag and fix all future leaks.
PHASE 2: PIPING, AUTOMATION AND
CONTROL UPGRADES
Phase two consisted of three major upgrades to the
compressed-air system: piping, automation and control logic.
During the technical assessment, it was discovered that
the distribution piping of the compressed-air system was
undersized for the flow, creating pressure variances in the
system. As a result, PepsiCo replaced the existing 3-inch
piping sections with 4-inch piping, which reduced system
pressure loss.
The combination of undersized piping and lack of automation
allowed for overlap of all the compressors at the facility.
This amounted to nearly $70,000 per year in energy waste
because of the lack of communication among
the compressors.
To combat this problem, PepsiCo installed automatic
sequencers on all seven of the facility’s compressors. “There
were kilowatt meters installed on each compressor as well
as flow meters and pressure transducers in key locations to
map system operation to serve as inputs into the sequencer,”
Mestas said.
With the piping and automation upgrades addressed, the
final project in this phase involved enhancing the process for
bottle rinsing and drying.
The technical assessment uncovered a lack of control logic
PepsiCo continues to look for ways to save energy and
for the facility’s open-blowing application. This meant the
challenge the norm. Together with SRP, PepsiCo is well on its
process for bottle rinsing and drying was running even when
way to further reducing its electricity, gas and water use.
there was no production. The solution, however, was simple.
PepsiCo installed solenoid valves, which would shut off openblowing activities during non-production hours.
pressure from 117 psi
PHASE 3:
RETROFITTING
HIGH-SPEED
BLOWERS
(pounds per square
Another benefit of the
“We have dropped
our compressed-air
inch) to 97 psi and
reduced the power
required to process the
air by 250 horsepower,”
said Dan Mestas,
Plant Engineer at
PepsiCo. “This not
only yielded incredible
savings in energy
and maintenance but
also provided us with
essentially free, spare
compressors.”
technical assessment was
uncovering inappropriate
uses of compressed air at the
facility. The Gatorade facility
was using compressed air
for bottle rinsing, at a cost of
about $140,000 per year.
Therefore, the final phase
of the project consisted of
retrofitting seven ionized
compressed-air bottlerinsing systems with
high-speed blowers.
The use of high-speed blowers will accomplish the bottle
drying as well or better than compressed air and save the
facility a considerable amount of money.
THE BIG PICTURE
The high-speed-blower retrofit project, which was piloted
at the Tolleson facility, has been applied to the entire hotfill system of 40 rinsers. The plant is now testing the retrofit
THE RESULTS
Compressed-air upgrades
� Annual electricity cost savings: more than
$140,000
� Annual electricity savings: 2,446,904 kWh
� Project cost: $485,732
� Rebates from SRP: $196,004
� Simple payback: just over 2 years
capability in its cold-fill bottling plants, where it has the
Lighting and variable-frequency drives
potential to be applied to an additional 125 rinsers.
� Annual electricity cost savings: more than $54,000
In addition to the upgrades made to its compressed-air
� Annual electricity savings: 942,835 kWh
system, the Tolleson plant received rebates from SRP through
� Project cost: $267,251
the Standard and Custom programs for lighting upgrades
and variable-frequency drives that were installed on its
cooling tower and water-supply pumps.
� Rebates from SRP: $87,463
� Simple payback: 3.29 years
SRP BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
The SRP Custom Business Solutions program was designed
to help customers identify and address energy-saving
opportunities unique to their facilities and operations.
Assessments are available for:
� Compressed-air systems of at least
100 horsepower (hp), excluding backup
� Facilities served by the E-61, E-63, E-65 or
E-66 price plans
� Non-HVAC pumping systems of at least
25 hp, excluding backup
The assessments are a “service rebate” — the analysis,
diagnostics and technical assistance provided as part
of the process act as the rebate and are funded by
SRP up to $33,000.
SRP Business Solutions also offers rebates for specialty
equipment in addition to the basics, such as lighting and
HVAC equipment. As long as a project’s energy savings
can be measured, it qualifies for a rebate. Rebates for
specialty projects are paid through the Custom program
at $0.11 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of first-year energy
savings, up to 50% of the project cost.
SRP rebate programs are operated on a first-come,
first-served basis until all funding has been committed.
Customers are eligible for as much as $300,000 in
rebates per program year.
Most measures and projects require preapproval before
new equipment is ordered, purchased or installed.
Specific details and applications for SRP Business
Solutions programs and services are available through
SRP account managers, at savewithsrpbiz.com or by
calling the program administrator at (602) 236-3054.
CUSTOMER PROFILE: PEPSICO
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with
also believes means a more successful future for
net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product
PepsiCo. PepsiCo calls this commitment “Performance
portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate
with Purpose”: PepsiCo’s promise to provide a wide
more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Its
range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to
main businesses — Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade,
find innovative ways to minimize its impact on the
Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola — make hundreds of foods
environment by conserving energy and water and
and beverages that are loved throughout the world.
reducing packaging volume; to provide a great
PepsiCo’s people are united by a unique commitment
workplace for its associates; and to respect, support
to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier
and invest in the local communities where it operates.
future for people and the planet, which the company
For more information, visit pepsico.com.